(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for removing moisture. More specifically, the present invention relates to a moisture removing apparatus and method for accurately and easily detecting moisture generation in an early stage and quickly removing it so as to prevent steam or frost from being created on glass surfaces of vehicles and industrial devices as well as other surfaces, and to prevent moisture such as rainwater from blocking a distance of vision.
(b) Description of the Related Art
As economies have developed and people have become more affluent, the number of cars has greatly increased, and they have now become necessities of life even though regarded as luxuries or exhibitions of wealth in the past.
However, as car distribution has increased, car accidents have also increased, and the people concerned and their families heavily suffer from death or damage caused by the car accidents, which generates social problems.
Accordingly, many efforts have been made to prevent car accidents, and techniques for preventing them and minimizing injuries and loss of life from car accidents have been developed.
Research for enhancing the distance of vision during driving has progressed in the field for preventing car accidents, including techniques for removing moisture caused by steam, frost, and rainwater.
In the rainy summer time or during very cold winter, the temperature difference between the interior and exterior of a car is large, the humidity inside the car increases which frequently generates steam on the windows, and this steam may obstruct a driver's view to thereby cause very dangerous driving situations.
When steam is generated on the windows, the driver conventionally controls the temperature in the car to reduce the humidity. In the winter, moisture in the air inside the car is condensed on the windows that are cooled because of the cold external temperature to become steam, the driver starts a heating system such as a heater and an electric heating apparatus such as heat wires to raise the temperature of the windows, thereby preventing the moisture in the interior air from being condensed.
In the above-described prior art, the driver undertakes a proper action after seeing the steam form on the windows. That is, the driver perceives that the steam begins to be formed on the windows, directly starts a heating apparatus, an electric heating apparatus, or a cooling system, and when a predetermined time has passed, the steam disappears. Therefore, since the driver's view is not clear for a long time, it problematically requires a long time to achieve a safe distance of view.
In order to prevent the generation of condensed moisture, such as steam and frost, chemicals may be applied to the windows. Namely, chemicals for preventing steam generation are coated on the windows or mirrors so that the steam may not be formed when the temperature and the humidity change. In this method, the chemicals may not be coated uniformly, they may partially peel off to cause a scattered reflection, and they may damage the windows as well as people.
To solve the problems and demerits, many types of apparatus for automatically sensing the generation of moisture on a surface and removing the moisture have been developed. FIG. 15 shows an exemplified apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 15, a prior art moisture remover comprises: a moisture sensor 10 for sensing generation of moisture on a window and outputting corresponding electrical signals; a microcomputer 20 for receiving the electrical signals from the moisture sensor 10, calculating them, and outputting a moisture removal signal when it is determined that the moisture is generated; and a driver 30 for removing steam formed on the window in response to the moisture removal signals output by the microcomputer 20.
The moisture sensor 10 comprises: a temperature sensor 11 for sensing the temperature inside a vehicle, and outputting corresponding electric signals; a humidity sensor 12 for sensing the humidity therein and outputting corresponding electric signals; and a CCD (charge coupled device) 13 for sensing the window and outputting corresponding electric signals.
The driver 30 comprises: an electric heating apparatus 31 for using power to generate heat and heating the windows in response to the moisture removal signal output by the microcomputer 20; and a cooling and heating apparatus 32 for supplying cold or hot air into the vehicle to control the temperature therein.
An operation of the prior art moisture remover will now be described.
When the temperature sensor 11 senses the temperature in the vehicle and outputs an electric signal, and the humidity sensor 12 senses the humidity therein and outputs an electric signal, the microcomputer 20 detects a time when steam is formed on the windows according to an input temperature value and an input humidity value, and it outputs a moisture removal signal when it is determined to be the time at which the steam is formed.
When the moisture removal signal is output by the microcomputer 20, the cooling and heating apparatus 32 or the electric heating apparatus 31 is individually operated to remove the moisture formed on the windows.
That is, as a heater or an air conditioner is driven as the cooling and heating apparatus 32, the temperature in the vehicle is cooled to prevent the moisture in the air inside the vehicle from being condensed in the summer, or the windows are heated to prevent the moisture in the air inside the vehicle from being condensed on the windows in the winter.
Also, by driving the electric heating apparatus 31, the moisture condensed on the windows is evaporated.
As described above, the prior art senses formation of steam or frost on the vehicle windows in the initial stage and removes it, thereby providing a clear view to the driver.
In addition, a CCD camera 13 may be installed in the vehicle to take desired images, and the corresponding images are analyzed by the microcomputer 20 to determine whether steam is formed to thereby output a moisture removal signal.
In the moisture remover, the temperature sensor 11 and the humidity sensor 12 are separately installed in the vehicle, values sensed by the temperature sensor 11 and the humidity sensor 12 are calculated by the microcomputer 20 to determine whether the steam is formed, but since the sensed values may vary depending on the locations of the temperature sensor 11 and the humidity sensor 12, corresponding reliabilities of these determining references are reduced.
The moisture remover additionally uses an expensive microcomputer 20 that executes much calculation, and accordingly, it problematically increases the cost of production.
Further, when steam instantly occurs in the CCD camera 13, the moisture remover fails to accurately determine moisture occurrence, and it requires a complex circuit and signal calculation for image processing, thereby increasing the cost of production.
Ultrasonic waves or infrared rays may be used to sense generation of moisture such as formation of steam or frost, which also requires a system for processing the ultrasonic waves and the infrared rays, and which requires complex calculation by the microcomputer using corresponding values, and hence, the whole system becomes complicated, the production cost becomes high, and it requires too much time to determine the generation of steam.